First, I'd recommend downloading VLC Media Player and OBS Studio (or any screen recording installation) before you begin. We'll also mostly be using the online gif maker EzGif. We'll also use YouTube, or where ever the video you want to use is located.
Open up OBS Studio (or whatever you're using) and go to where the video is located, and begin to screen record the parts of the video you want to use. It's a good idea to watch it beforehand so you know which parts to keep. Recording the entire video would be a waste of storage anyways.
Tip for using YouTube: Often times, you'll see a pop-up in the top right corner that the artist may have added to advertise a different song. If you want that out of the clip, you can crop the video, or play the clip once through, and then go back, and then start to record. Also make sure all of your files are organized, labeled, and easy to locate.
Using VLC, you can edit the clips however you want. You can crop them (which is a weirdly complicated process; there are YouTube tutorials for that), trim them, or just play around in general with effects. There's a lot I haven't discovered myself. When you're done, save the final video.
EzGif has a lot of different options. The first step I recommend is to turn the video into a GIF, and then optimize it so that it can be published or used easily, especially since many sites have a size limit. Now you can also play around with color adjustments. There is a lot more freedom in this step. But after that, you're done! Publish it where ever you want.
In order: Static-X "Cold" MV; Lorna Shore "And I Return to Nothingness MV"
Tutorial created August 8th, 2023. Updated July 23, 2024.